Prelude
by Yukimura Akira
Summary: Michiru, a famous violinist moves into her newly purchased house and stumbles upon an old grand piano in a room. What happens when she touches it when she's not supposed to? She'll get to meet Mr. Arrogant then! Or is it Miss Arrogant instead?
1. Beginning

Disclaimer: Once again, I'm reminded of the fact that I do not own sailor moon at all. I hate disclaimers. -Sobs- Oh right, before I forget, I do not own Lord of the Rings as well.

Akira: Okay, this has got nothing to do with Lord of the Rings I swear, there's only a tiny bit of LotR reference for humor's sake, that's all. I really don't know what's gotten into me lol. Here I am, starting a completely new fic when I have readers practically screaming for updates on other fics. Let's just face it. I have a problem of not staying in one story for a long time. I'm terribly sorry about this. Anyway… this is just something I thought up in the middle of the night or is it morning? Either way, it's actually about three a.m. in the morning, which kind of explains my crankiness right now. Well then, enjoy.

_Chapter One: Beginning_

"It's all yours, Kaiou-san," the agent waved a little too enthusiastically at the aqua haired girl who stood in front of a rusting metal gate outside an old house, shouting his goodbyes before disappearing into his car and driving off. Holding a set of unfamiliar keys in her hands, her violin case, and a folder containing the documented contract of her newly leased house, she inserted an old gold plated key into the keyhole of the gates. A soft 'click' sounded as she turned the key in the keyhole, unlocking the gates in the process. She summoned almost all of her strength and pushed the seemingly heavy metal gates apart, wincing as a loud and high pitched creak pounded painfully in her ears, the result of rusty metal grinding heavily together.

A strong gust of spring breeze blew at the very moment the old heavy gates swung wide open suddenly, as if the house was inviting her into the house itself. Michiru shivered slightly at the cold and hugged her coat tighter to her small body, seeking warmth.

'A warm cup of cocoa would be nice…' she thought to herself as she turned the bronze knob on the main door. As soon as she entered the house, a loud 'crash' sounded behind the door as the metal gates shut themselves close right after she closed the door behind her. There was another sound, it was a faint and barely audible melody but… a musician with trained ears like hers would never miss it. She closed her eyes and listened intently to the soothing music sounding throughout the house. Intrigued by the bittersweet melody which was playing throughout a house where nobody should have been in, she took a wary step towards the stairs that led to the second floor of the house and decided to trace the source of the music.

She held her breath while she climbed up the stairs which creaked a little at every little movement she made. She moved slowly and quietly, tip-toeing through the hallway as she listened, careful not to make any redundant noise because it felt like even simple breathing sounds could totally extinguish the beautiful sounds coming from a…

Piano?

Standing outside a slightly ajar door where the music was coming from within, she froze in her tracks, as if remembering something.

'What am I doing? There shouldn't be anybody in this house. What should I do if it's a thief?' Michiru thought to herself as she panicked, looking around wildly for a stick of any sort. Unfortunately, there was nothing of the sort in sight and she looked down at the violin case resting in her arms.

'No Michiru, not your violin. Antonio Stradivari would literally jump out of his grave if you use _his_ 'precious' to hit a burglar,' she shuddered as she imagined a boney Antonio Stradivari skeleton kicking his coffin door open, screaming "my precious!!!!!" as he grabs his precious creation close to his ribcage. Okay, that's it. She's been watching too much fantasy movies, namely, Lord of the Necklaces. No more fantasy movie marathons, she decided. Oh wait, she's drifting off the topic at hand. There's a freaking piano playing burglar in the house, do something Michiru!

She sighed and looked down at her violin case again. Muttering a silent apology to the boney Antonio Stradivari and her violin, she kicked the door open like an action hero and raised her violin high above her head, ready to strike the 'intruder' hard.

What…

She blinked. There was nobody in the room except for the dusty old white colored grand piano sitting right in the middle of the room. She scanned the room for traces of a person cautiously and lowered her violin slowly as she stepped into the bright sunlit room. The thin, white silky curtains fluttered beautifully in the breeze, allowing more sunlight to enter the room and fall onto the beautiful grand piano. Michiru drew in a deep breath as she saw a faint outline of a person sitting on the piano bench.

She blinked again.

There's nobody there.

'Am I that stressed lately? I'm starting to see things,' the violinist rubbed her eyes and set her Stradivarius onto the wooden floor as she made her way towards the old piano, reaching her hand out to caress the old instrument, and then paused along the way. It was then that she remembered a line from her contract.

Rule number one: Never ever touch the piano in the house.

'I wonder why they even bothered to put it there. It only makes people want to touch it more,' she mused to herself and continued her trail of thoughts, 'Well, there's nobody looking… I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to just touch it for a moment.'

She reached over and placed her hand on the mysterious piano which played on its own.

The next thing she knew, she blacked out.

Unknown to the fainted girl who was lying on the wooden tiled floor, the beautiful piano sounded again. This time, a solid but transparent figure sat on the bench with his eyes closed and played the bittersweet tune once again.

Little did she know that the next time she wakes up, she would be in a lot of trouble.

_End of Chapter One_

Akira: Well, I'm sorry to leave you guys hanging like that. I kind of liked that cliff hanger XD well, it's my first time writing a supernatural story really. Never really did anything on spirits before. I hope this would be good. For those who're waiting for an update to "Currently Untitled", I hereby advise you not to expect too much from the coming update. It's kind of shorter than before, and I just hope that it doesn't disappoint those readers who had high expectations of it.


	2. Encounter

Akira: Hello everyone. I'm back with the long awaited second chapter! Seriously, it's been a long time since I had last written anything and I'm glad to be writing again. I'm very happy to have received reviews for this story since it's one of my personal favorites. I would like to thank you all for your wonderful reviews. Now, let's move on!

_Chapter Two: Encounter_

"-iss… are you alright?" a concerned gentle voice spoke into her ears as she sat up slowly from the hard wooden floor, thanking the person in the process of doing so. Michiru's eyes remained close; her head was throbbing with pain and dizziness and she felt so groggy that she couldn't even open her eyes. Once again, the soothing voice rang in her ears. This time, she felt much better. Her head didn't hurt as much and it stopped spinning in circles. Somehow, the voice had eased the pain and discomfort and she was grateful for it.

The aqua haired woman cracked her eye open bit by bit, her blurred vision slowly coming into focus as she came face to face with a handsome blond stranger who had a worried look in his teal eyes-

Hang on a second, why was there somebody in her new house? Additionally, he looked kind of… _transparent_ as well… She shook her head quickly, thinking that she must've made a mistake. Well, the room did look kind of bright with all the sunlight in there… She must have been seeing things; after all, it was impossible for a person to be transparent in any way, unless… she's looking at something that _was_ human. Michiru laughed at herself for thinking up something as silly as that. There was no way that ghosts exist.

Finally convincing herself that she was looking at a human, she turned her attention back to the blond stranger and said, "Yes, I am fine. Thank you for helping, but what are you doing in my house?"

The blond man looked a little confused at her statement as he replied questioningly, "Your house? I think you are mistaken, my lady. This is my house."

She frowned at his weird answer suspiciously and held him under a skeptical stare while she replied mimicking his style of speech, "I am definitely not mistaken, good sir. I believe I have the proper deed for this land that I have just purchased, though there was a piano that was-

The young man raised his brow a little as she stopped abruptly in her sentence while memories of what happened flooded into her mind. The piano that played on its own… the piano that she was not supposed to be touching… and the figure she last saw before she blacked out… the pieces were coming together little by little, and she felt the headache coming back again. She faced him abruptly and ran her eyes up and down the man's faded figure.

'No, no, no! Why does this always happen to me?'

The aqua haired woman groaned inwardly as she cursed the gods for her unlucky streak for the week. Frowning, she rubbed the bridge of her nose as she thought of something to say to the blond… ghost. The faded man only stared at her face in confusion as he waited for a continuation to her broken sentence.

Deciding that he could not wait any longer, he cleared his throat audibly and asked, "Excuse me miss, what about the piano?"

The crease on her forehead deepened. It was rude to ignore his question, but she didn't know how to answer him either. Giving a slight shake of her head which signaled that it was nothing important, she looked into his teal green eyes and for the first time, she noticed how one could drown in them just by looking into the piercing gaze of his. Aware of her stare, the ghost's lips curved into a light smirk as he proceeded to tease the human out of habit. He leaned in closer to her face never breaking the eye-contact as he asked with a husky but arrogant voice, "Like what you see?"

That was a tone that she knew very well, and she didn't like it exactly. He sounded just like the annoying accompanist who was so full of himself that she last worked with a few weeks ago. Backing away from his approach skillfully like she did with every man's advances, she gave him a mocking smile and said coolly, "For your information Mr. Ghost, I, Kaiou Michiru, am not interested in supernatural things like spirits and ghosts. Oh, and one more thing, even though you _are_ good looking, you are not the best I've seen." Her mind was screaming the word _"liar!"_ at her as she finished her sentence with a smirk of her own which matched the blond ghost's.

The arrogant smirk was wiped off his face totally and he frowned at her comments about himself. What was she talking about? He was alive and kicking, wasn't he? The gorgeous woman had to be kidding him. Even though she was beautiful, she was kind of cranky up in the head he guessed. After all, how could he be a ghost and talking to her? It had to be a bad joke… right?

'Right, calm down, you are not dead. You can't possibly be,' he stared at his faint hands and did a double take. The facts sank in a few seconds later and he panicked inwardly, 'This can't be happening! I can't die yet! I have my dreams to fulfill! I promised her that I'll definitely become the world's best pianist!'

"_Haruka, don't leave!"_

The image of a beautiful young woman with shimmering hazel eyes and flaming red silky hair invaded his mind and as he tried to recall her name that had eluded his memory, a sharp pain resembling that of lightning splitting a large oak tree into halves overcame him and he fell to his knees, fingers fisting his blond tousle as if he was in despair. Not knowing what to do, the beautiful woman felt a pang of guilt wave over her as she could only watch the man-ghost suffer.

'Now that sounded a little like mongoose,' she thought to herself, but shook her head quickly as she decided it wasn't the time for jokes. Kneeling down next to the spirit, she tried placing a hand on his shoulder to offer some comfort, only to find her hand passing through his faint body. She shuddered at the feel of cold air enveloping itself around her fingers for a moment before returning her attention to the blond ghost who was slowly recovering.

After making sure that the pain had fully subsided, the handsome ghost slowly opened an eye and looked at the aqua haired woman from his peripheral vision. So he really died, but how? All he could remember of his past was the woman he saw a few moments ago, and her voice. Her alluring yet innocent voice that spoke his name with such warmth; who was she?

Michiru stared at the ghost, wondering if he was feeling any better.

"Are you feeling all right, sir?"

With a slight nod, he affirmed to her question and climbed back onto his feet, a single hand still holding his head to ease the little throbbing that still remained.

* * *

"So you're saying that you don't remember a thing?"

The tall ghost nodded again at her question and placed a hand under his chin as he settled into a comfortable pose on the loveseat.

They were now sitting in the beside the fireplace, Michiru with a coffee mug in her hands while the blond ghost floated across her, sending her a questioning look as she asked her questions.

"Right, now that you have asked me what you want to know, it's my turn to ask my questions, my lady," he sat himself onto the couch comfortably and removed his top hat as he placed them on the table that sat between the both of them.

Michiru complied with a nod and let her eyes fall onto the blond bangs that almost covered his beautiful teal eyes as he leaned forward.

"Firstly, I would like to clear the misunderstanding that you seem to have towards me," the blond man spoke and cleared his throat a little, allowing the aqua haired woman to voice her question.

"What misunderstanding might that be, good sir? Could it be that, you are not actually a gentleman like you said you are?" teased Michiru as she watched the man's unflawed lips curve into a slight smile.

"Right you are, my lady. I am not exactly a gentleman, I guess you can call me… a gentlewoman," the blond ghost smirked mischievously as she noticed the surprised expression shown on the violinist's face. Resisting the urge to chuckle at the look on her face, she proceeded to her next sentence.

"My lady, would you be kind enough to grace me with your name?"

"Ara, isn't it rude not to introduce yourself first when you ask for other's name?" Michiru replied confidently as she looked at the blonde in the eye.

The blond woman raised her brow a little and chuckled lightly at the aqua haired violinist's reply as she nodded her head in agreement, "Very well then, my lady; my name is Haruka. May I have yours now then?"

"No, you may not have my name, good 'sir'," giggled Michiru lightly as she saw the frown on the ghost's handsome face, and then continued with her sentence within the next few seconds, "but if all you want is to know it then I shall gladly comply with your request. My name is Kaiou Michiru, and I'm not really pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise, my lady. So tell me, where exactly am I? No wait, let me correct that, _when_ exactly am I?" she fiddled with her walking stick as she waited patiently for her companion's answer.

The ocean eyed woman replied to the other woman's question calmly, "The year is 2008."

The blonde nodded slightly, acknowledging the fact that she was no longer in whichever era she was from and continued with her next question, "I see you have the Stradivarius with you, can I assume that you are no ordinary violinist then?"

"Yes, of course."

An idea clicked in the blonde's mind suddenly and she grinned evilly to herself before suggesting the following to the violinist who waited for her to continue with her sentence and looked at her weirdly.

"If that is the case, my lady, I supposed you are able to play it exceptionally well then?"

Michiru once again nodded confidently at the ghost, feeling dignified.

"Well then, may I suggest a simple fiddle of 'ode to joy' on your prized Stradivarius then?" the blonde grinned as the beautiful woman acceded to her request and removed the expensive violin from its used leather case and gracefully placed her chin on the chinrest while she lifted the bow to the strings. Closing her eyes, she began to play.

In a split moment, her blue eyes opened wide and aghast as high pitched and out of tune squeaks escaped from the sound hole while the blond ghost burst into laughter as she wiped a tear that escaped her eye at the beautiful face which turned red from shock, anger, and mostly; embarrassment.

"Antonio Stradivari is so going to hop out of his grave and strangle me with those boney hands of his. What the _hell_ did you do?!" she half yelled and squealed at the giggling spirit who still had that mischievous glint in her stunningly attractive teal eyes.

"Ah, it is very unbecoming of a lady to use such coarse language, my lady," chuckling, she feigned ignorance as she avoided the question totally. "I was just… doing a little experiment with my ghostly powers."

Giving her a brilliant smile, Haruka leaned back into the air and levitated her top hat back onto her head as she floated up the stairs to where her old room used to be.

Michiru frowned and sighed as she fell back towards the couch with her Stradivarius in her hands, thinking to herself, 'God, whatever have I gotten myself into?'

_End of Chapter_

Akira: Alright, I know it stinks, don't tell me it doesn't, because I know it really does. I have really bad writer blocks and this is probably the best I can do for now. That's right; I can't believe that I posted something as low quality as this either. As much as I love this story, I just can't find the proper words to put them in place. Once again, I'm terribly sorry for the delay. Just hate me already, sucky ending and content.


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